Dunnage member retaining assembly

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a thin flat wall member which may be secured in a shipping container or vessel to interchangeably removably receive several types of dunnage member brackets or hooks at a desired location. The wall member has a series of vertically oblong openings arranged in vertical and horizontal rows. The openings are equally spaced to interchangeably receive a bracket for a rigid dunnage bar in two vertically adjacent openings, a single hook member for a dunnage strap in one of the openings and a double hook member for a dunnage rope in one of the openings. The use of this wall member provides a reduction in cost and weight and in addition the flexibility of the different types of dunnage member brackets at different locations makes it much easier and faster to secure freight in the container. The double hook member is formed of a single resilient steel rod which is coiled to form a rope receiving eye and has two bent tip portions which may be manually inserted and resiliently retained in a selected one of the openings.

United States Patent Csumrik Sept. 23, 1975 DUNNAGE MEMBER RETAINING [73] Assignee: Cargowall Limited, Peterborough,

Canada [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 464,993

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 291,755, Sept. 25,

1972, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 105/475; 280/179 B; 105/497; 105/503 [51] Int. Cl B60p 7/08 [58] Field of Search 248/224, 223, DIG. 3, 361 A, 248/251; 105/369 A, 369 B, 369 S, 369 Y; 280/179 A, 179 B Henrikson 105/399 B Simpson et al 105/369 B Jantzen t i t t 248/223 X Rous 248/224 X Primary Examiner-J. Franklin Foss Attorney, Agent, or FirmGeorge H. Riches [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a thin flat wall member which may be secured in a shipping container or vessel to interchangeably removably receive several types of dunnage member brackets or hooks at a desired location. The wall member has a series of vertically oblong openings arranged in vertical and horizontal rows. The openings are equally spaced to interchangeably receive a bracket for a rigid dunnage bar in two vertically adjacent openings, a single hook member for a dunnage strap in one of the openings and a double hook member for a dunnage rope in one of the openings. The use of this wall member provides a reduction in cost and weight and in addition the flexibility of the different types of dunnage member brackets at differ ent locations makes it much easier and faster to secure freight in the container. The double hook member is formed of a single resilient steel rod which is coiled to form a rope receiving eye and has two bent tip portions which may be manually inserted and resiliently retained in a selected one of the openings.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Shea 1 of2 3,906,871

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet2of2 3,906,871

DUNNAGE MEIVIBER RETAINING ASSEIVIBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This is a eontinuationdn-part of application Ser. No. 291,755 filed Sept. 25, 1972 now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to dunnage members such as bars of straps which are used to secure articles of freight in a shipping container or vessel, and more particularly to a thin flat wall member having a series of. openings therethrough which are adapted to interchangeably removably receive a number of different types of brackets for different dunnage members in selected locations. In the past, a variety of methods have been used to locate dunnage members to secure articles of freight during shipping. Wood dunnage bars have been nailed to the wood sides or walls of the freight compartment. Ropes of dunnage straps have been tied to hooks or bars on the walls of the freight compartment to hold the cargo against the walls. Both of these methods have the disadvantage that they. are expensive in that they are very time consuming and that the dunnage bars or straps must be replaced after being used a relatively few number of times.

More recently, this problem has been partially overcome by the use of disconnectable assemblies or devices for connecting the dunnage members to the walls of the freight compartment. However, these assemblies are still relatively expensive in that they include a specially built wall member which is expensive to manufacture and a bracket member to attach the end of the dunnage bar to the wall member which is relatively complex and expensive itself. In addition, these previ ous combinations of a bracket member and a wall member (referred to in this disclosure as a retaining assembly) have other disadvantages resulting from their relative complexity. The first is that they are not sufficiently flexible in that they do not provide for both the use of a number of different types of bracket members and their location in any desired position over the walls of the freight compartment. The second is that the wall members which are normally located around the freight compartment are not thin and flat and therefore take up a considerable amount of space which would otherwise be available for freight. Thirdly, the structure of the wall members require them to be formed of a large amount of material, and as this material is normally metal, this significantly increases the weight of the shipping container or vessel, as well as adds to its cost. Fourthly, the installation, adjustment and removal of the dunnage members is difficult for a person not previously familiar with the operation of these devices. Finally, the complexity of these prior assemblies, which extends to some of them having moving parts, causes them to be subject to wear and the probability of relatively early failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to at least partially overcome these disadvantages by providing a wall member and retaining assembly for securely removably retaining one end of a dunnage member which is more flexible, economical to manufacture, light-weight and is easier to use. i

To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention provides a thin substantially flat rigid wallmernber adapted to be fixedly located in a predetermined planar position in a shipping container or vessel, the wall member having a plurality of-similarly-shaped openings extending therethrough arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, the openings being equally spaced in said rows and adapted to interchangeably removably receive the fol lowing bracket members for dunnage members: (a) a bracket member adapted to, removably receive one end of a rigid dunnage bar with a uniform rectangular cross section, the bracket member having a rigid box-like structure and a pair of hooks extending rearwardly therefrom the box-like structure formed by a pair of side walls connected by a rear wall and a floor to have an open top and open front, the boxlike structure adapted for removable slidable insertion of the said one end of the dunnage bar through the open top into snug receipt in the boxlike structure, in the assembled posi tion, in which position the dunnage bar extends through the open front of the box-like structure, the pair ofv hooks being vertically spaced and projecting rearward from the rear face of the rear wall of the boxlike structure, the hooks being downwardly curved. and adapted to be engageably received in vertically adja cent two of the openings at a desired height a selected one of the verticalrows of the openings in the wall member; (b) a single hook member adapted to be secured to one end of a dunnage strap, the single hook member having a hook adapted] to be inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member to the assembled position in which it partially protrudes from an adjacent horizontal or vertical opening to se curely engage a portion of the wall member extending between the said selected opening and the said adjacent opening and an aperture in the bracket member adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage strap; and (c) a double hook member adapted to be secured to one end of a dunnage rope, the double hook member having a pair of arms extending in a spaced relationship from an eye adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage rope, the arms each having a tip portion bent in opposite directions to extend substantially perpendicularly to the respective fingers, the arms being spring loaded whereby they may be manually compressed together, their tip portions inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member and then released to the assembled position wherein the double hook member securely engages the wall member.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a retaining assembly for securely removably retaining one end of a dunnage rope in a selected location, in an assembled position, comprising (a) a thin flat rigid wall member adapted to be fixedly located in a predetermined planar position, the wall member having a plurality of regularly vertically and horizontally spaced, similarly shaped openings therethrough; and (b) a bracket member having integral hook means and receiving means, the hook means comprising a pair of arms extending in a spaced relationship from the receiving means, the arms each having a tip portion bent in opposite directions to extend substantially perpendicularly to the respective arms, the arms being spring loaded whereby they may be manually compressed together, their tip portions inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member and then released to the assembled position wherein the hook means securely engages the wall member, and the receiving means comprises an eye adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage member.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view showing wall members according to the invention with several dunnage members in selected locations to secure several articles of freight in the rear of a truck;

FIG. 2 is a partial front elevation view of one of the types of bracket members which may be secured to the wall members;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bracket member shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IVIV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of two single hook type of bracket members retaining the ends of two dunnage straps in selected locations on a single wall member, adjacent an article of freight; and

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a double hook type of bracket member according to the invention used to secure a dunnage rope to the wall member to hold an article of freight in place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which shows several relatively large objects 10 held in position for transport in the rear of a truck 12 by dunnage members in the form of dunnage bars 14 and dunnage straps 16. The dunnage bars 14 are usually formed of wood with a uniform cross section such as 2 X 4s or 2 X 6s, but may also be formed of other materials. The dunnage straps 16 are formed of a conventional strong flexible material and normally have a disconnectable buckle similar to that of a conventional automobile seat belt which permits adjustment of the length of the strap, as well as quick and easy release of the article which is being held. Alternatively, the straps may merely be adjustable in length with the disconnect feature being provided by the retaining assemblies. The truck 12 has opposed wall members 18, according to the invention, which are held securely in place by conventional means, such as by being bolted to posts in the corners of the truck. Although the wall members 18 are preferably located vertically, as shown, with the dunnage bars 14 running horizontally, it is apparent that they may also possibly be located on the floor and ceiling of the truck, in which case the dunnage bars 14 would extend vertically. It is also apparent that only one wall member 18 need by used with the dunnage straps l6, and that this one wall member could be centrally located in the freight compartment 19 of the truck 12. When assembled, as shown in FIG. 1, the ends of the dunnage bars 20 and the ends of the dunnage straps 22 are removably retained in the desired selected location on the wall members 18 by bracket members 24. Although the freight compartment 19 in which the invention is shown and described herein as being located, it could equally as well be in a standardized shipping container, or a ship, railway car or other shipping vessel.

Reference is next made to FIG. 2 which shows a portion of a wall member 18, and a first type of bracket member 24 which is used to removably retain one end 20 of a rigid dunnage bar 14 in the selected location on the wall member 18. The wall member 18 is shown having a number of openings 26 which are equally spaced in vertically and horizontally extending rows. Although the oblong shape of the openings with a vertical longitudinal axis 28 as shown is preferred, the openings 26 may also possibly be rectangular or circular shaped. In addition to being generally rectangular shaped to cover the whole side of the truck 12, as shown in FIG. 1, the wall members 18 may be smaller in size and may be of any suitable shape, such as in vertical or horizontal strips. The flat shape of the wall members 18 makes them relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture by stamping the openings 26 out of a flat sheet of steel. In the embodiment shown, the wall members 18 are formed of 16 gauge steel, and the openings 26 are 1 inch wide and 1 /2 inches high with a distance of 1 inch between them both vertically and horizontally. If lighter weight wall members are desired, they may be formed of aluminum rather than steel. In addition to facilitating manufacture, the shape of the wall members 18 results in them taking up very much less freight space and being much lighter in weight than the wall members of the previous retaining assemblies.

The bracket member 24 seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 has a box-like structure 30 formed by a pair of side walls 32 extending from a rear wall 34 and a floor 36. The box-like structure 30 has an open front 40 and is of a suitable size and shape to snugly receive one end 20 of a dunnage bar 14 extending through the open front 40. The rear wall 34 of the box-like structure has a pair of vertically spaced hooks 42 projecting rearwardly from its rear face 44. The hooks 42 are downwardly curved, and suitably spaced apart, shaped, and have suitable dimensions to be engageably received in the lower extremes 46 of two vertically adjacent openings 48, 50 in the wall member 18. The rear wall 34 of the box-like structure 30 also has an upwardly curved lip 52 projecting rearward from its rear face 44 between the pair of hooks 42. The curved lip 52 is suitably spaced from the hooks 42, and of a suitable shape and size to be received in the upper extreme 54 of the lowermost one 48 of the two vertically adjacent openings 48, 50. The box-like structure 30 may be conveniently and inexpensively formed by bending and welding an appropriately shaped thin blank of 14 guage sheet steel. The hooks 42 and the lip 52 may conveniently be provided by stamping them out of the blank, prior to bending.

In use, a bracket member as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is attached in corresponding locations on each of two opposed wall members 18 by manually locating the pair of hooks 42 over the desired two vertically adjacent openings 48, 50 in the wall member 18, moving the box-like structure 30 towards the wall member 18 to a position in which the rear face 44 of the rear wall 34 abuts on the front face 72 of the wall member 18 thereby inserting the hooks 42 through the openings 48, and lowering the box-like structure 30 until the hooks 42 come into bearing contact with the wall member 18 adjacent the lower extremes 46 of the two openings 48, 50. During this movement, the upwardly curved lip 52 is also inserted through the lowermost opening 48 to the position seen in FIG. 4. The two bracket members are retained in the selected locations by the hooks 42 engaging the wall members 18. A dunnage bar 14 is then lowered into the assembled position between them each end 20 of the dunnage bar 14 being slidably received through the open top 38 of the corresponding box-like structure 30. The use of a pair of hooks 42 inserted through two openings 48, 50 rather than a single hook inserted through a single opening prevents the dunnage bar 14 from rotating, in the as-, sembled position. In the assembled position each end of the dunnage bar 14 is prevented from moving downwards or sideways by the box-like structure. 30, which in turn, is prevented from moving downwards or sideways by the hooks 42 being engaged in the openings 48, 50. It is possible forthe end of the dunnage bar 14 to move vertically upward out of the box-like structure 30, but such movement is opposed by the force of gravity, the frictional force of the article being held by the dunnage bar (inmost cases and by the frictional force between the side walls 32 of the box-like struc ture 30 and the end of the dunnage bar. Upward movement of the box-likestructure 30 relative to the wall member 18 is also possible, but in addition to being opposed by the above-mentioned forces, this upward movement has a maximum limit established by the lip 52, coming into contact with the wall member 18 adjacent the upper extreme 54 of the lowermost opening 48. Even if a sudden impact during transit did cause the box-like structure 30 to momentarily move upward until the lip 52 contacted the wall member '18 (in which position the hooks 42 no longer engage the wall member 18), the box-like structure 30 would be prevented from moving away from the wall member 18 by the upwardly curved lip 52 engaging the wall member 18. Following use, the dunnage bar 14 may be removed from the assembled position by simplylifting it vertically up ward to withdraw each end through the open top 38 of the corresponding box-like structure 30. Each box-like structure 30 may then be manually detached from the wall member 18 by lifting it upward sufficient to disengage the downwardly curved hooks 42 from the wall member 18, but not sufficient to engage the upwardly curved lip 52 with the wall member 18, and then moving the box-like structure 30 away from the wall member. When all of the bracket members have been removed from a wall member, the wall member presents a smooth surface with no projections or obstructions, which facilitate the movement of articles of freight along it. It is, of course, apparent that the openings 26 in the wall members 18 must be arranged in vertical rows and equally spaced to provide for the use of this type of bracket member.

A second type of bracket member 24, which may be used with the wall members 18 is shown in FIG. 5 retaining one end 22 of a dunnage strap 16 in a selected position on the wall member 18 and is formed of a single thin flat plate 56. The plate 56 has a transverse closed aperture 58 therethrough and a finger 60 extending therefrom. The plate 56 is connected to one end 22 of the dunnage strap 16 by passing the end of the strap through the transverse aperture 58 and securely fastening the end of the strap, by conventional means such as sewing, to form a loop 62 in the strap. The finger 60 of the plate 56 is formed of a suitable shaped with suitable dimensions to be inserted through a selected one 64 of the openings 26 in the wall member 18 to the assembled position shown, in which the outer end 66 of the finger 60 protrudes from a vertically or horizontally adjacent opening 68. Therefore, in the assembled position, the finger 60 engages a portion 70 of the wall member 18 which extends between the selected opening 64 and the adjacent opening 68, to retain the bracket member 24 in that location on the wall member 18.

One or more dunnage straps 16 with a bracket member 24 attached to each end 22 may be used to secure an article of freight against a wall member 18. As men tioned above, each dunnage strap-16 may be provided with a conventional buckle (not shown) which permits adjustment of the length of the strap andeasily accessible release of the article from the strap. Each end of the strap 16 is attached to the wall member 18in a selected location adjacent the article by inserting the finger 60 of the fiat plate 56 through the selected openings 64 to the assembled position, in which the outer end 66 of the finger 60 protrudes from a vertically or horizontal adjacent opening 68. Following attachment of both ends of the strap to the wall member in this manner, the strap is tightened about-the article, and the tension of the strap prevents the bracket member from accidentally being detachedfrorn the wall member. The fact that the outer 'end 66 of thefin'ger 60 protrudes from (or'at least into) the adjacent opening 68, prevents the bracket member from rotating during use, and also serves'to prevent the bracket memberfrom acciden tally becoming detached from the wall member. In order to detach the dunnage strap from the wall member 18 to remove the article, the dunnage strap is lossened and the flat plate 56 is manually rotated to re move the finger 60 from the opening 64. Removal of the bracket members leaves the flat wall member free from obstructions to the removal of the article from the freight compartment. In addition to attaching both ends of a dunnage strap to the same wall member to secure an article to that wall member, the ends of the dunnage strap maybe attached to opposed or adjacent Wall members to secure articles in different positions.

The bracket member shown in FIG. 6 if formed of a rod of resilient material such as steel to have two arms 80, 82 with respective tip portions 84, 86 extending from an eye 90 formed by coil 88. A dunnage rope 78 is secured to the bracket member 80 in a conventional manner by loop 92 passing through the eye 90. As may be seen, the arms extend substantially parallel out from the eye 90 and the tip portions 84, 86 are bent in opposite directions substantially perpendicularly to the arms 80, 82.

In use, bracket member 80 with dunnage rope 78 secure to it is removably attached to wall member 18 by manually compressing the two arms 80, 82 together, inserting the tip portions 84, 86 through one of the openings 26 and then releasing; the arms. The resiliency of the material forming the bracket member 80 spring loads the arms 80, 82 apart sufficiently that the tip portions 84, 86 engage the wall member 18 at opposite edges of the opening 26. It has been found that the maximum resiliency of the material of the bracket member 80 which may be conviently used to allow for manual insertion of the tip portions 84, 86 into the opening is sufficient to very strongly secure the bracket member 80 to the wall member 18 in this mannerv The dunnage rope is then used to secure the freight object 10 in the freight compartment in a conventional man ner.

Although the disclosure describes and illustrates pre ferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments. In particular, it is ap parent that the finger 60 of the bracket member shown in FIG. 5 may be combined with the box-like structure 30 of the bracket member shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

What I claim is:

l. A thin substantially flat rigid wall member adapted to be fixedly located in a predetermined planar position in a shipping container or vessel, the wall member having a plurality of similarly-shaped openings extending therethrough arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, the openings being equally spaced in said rows and adapted to inter-changeably removably receive the following bracket members for dunnage members:

a. a bracket member adapted to removably receive one end of a rigid dunnage bar with a uniform rectangular cross-section, the bracket member having a rigid box-like structure and a pair of hooks ex tending rearwardly therefrom the box-like structure formed by a pair of side walls connected by a rear wall and a'floor to have an open top and open front, the box-like structure adapted for removable slidable insertion of the said one end of the dunnage bar through the open top into snug receipt in the box-like structure, in the assembled position, in which position the dunnage bar extends through the open front of the box-like structure, the pair of hooks being vertically spaced and projecting rearward from the rear face of the rear wall of the boxlike structure, the hooks being downwardly curved and adapted to be engageably received in vertically adjacent two of the openings at a desired height a selected one of the vertical rows of the openings in the wall member,

b. a single hook member adapted to be secured to one end of a dunnage strap, the single hook member having a hook adapted to be inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member to the assembled position in which it partially protrudes from an adjacent horizontal or vertical opening to securely engage a portion of the wall member extending between the said selected opening and the said adjacent opening and an aperture in the bracket member adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage strap,

c. a double hook member adapted to be secured to one end of a dunnage rope, the double hook member having a pair of arms extending in a spaced relationship from an eye adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage rope, the arms each having a tip portion bent in opposite directions to extend substantially perpendicularly to the respective arms, the arms being spring loaded whereby they may be manually compressed togethentheir tip portions inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member and then released to the assembled position wherein the double hook member securely engages the wall member.

2. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the openings in the wall member is oblong shaped with a vertical longitudinal axis.

3. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall member and the bracket member are formed of steel.

4. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall member is formed of aluminum. 

1. A thin substantially flat rigid wall member adapted to be fixedly located in a predetermined planar position in a shipping container or vessel, the wall member having a plurality of similarly-shaped openings extending therethrough arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, the openings being equally spaced in said rows and adapted to inter-changeably removably receive the following bracket members for dunnage members: a. a bracket member adapted to removably receive one end of a rigid dunnage bar with a uniform rectangular cross-section, the bracket member having a rigid box-like structure and a pair of hooks extending rearwardly therefrom the box-like structure formed by a pair of side walls connected by a rear wall and a floor to have an open top and open front, the box-like structure adapted for removable slidable insertion of the said one end of the dunnage bar through the open top into snug receipt in the box-like structure, in the assembled position, in which position the dunnage bar extends through the open front of the box-like structure, the pair of hooks being vertically spaced and projecting rearward from the rear face of the rear wall of the box-like structure, the hooks being downwardly curved and adapted to be engageably received in vertically adjacent two of the openings at a desired height a selected one of the vertical rows of the openings in the wall member, b. a single hook member adapted to be secured to one End of a dunnage strap, the single hook member having a hook adapted to be inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member to the assembled position in which it partially protrudes from an adjacent horizontal or vertical opening to securely engage a portion of the wall member extending between the said selected opening and the said adjacent opening and an aperture in the bracket member adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage strap, c. a double hook member adapted to be secured to one end of a dunnage rope, the double hook member having a pair of arms extending in a spaced relationship from an eye adapted to securely attachably receive the said one end of the dunnage rope, the arms each having a tip portion bent in opposite directions to extend substantially perpendicularly to the respective arms, the arms being spring loaded whereby they may be manually compressed together, their tip portions inserted through a selected one of the openings in the wall member and then released to the assembled position wherein the double hook member securely engages the wall member.
 2. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the openings in the wall member is oblong shaped with a vertical longitudinal axis.
 3. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall member and the bracket member are formed of steel.
 4. A retaining assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall member is formed of aluminum. 